Time spent on red tape still rising

A SURVEY of businesses has found many operators believe they are spending more time dealing with red tape.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland research found almost 65% of those surveyed felt this way.

General advocacy manager Nick Behrens said the result set a challenge for governments at all levels.

"The State Government, in particular, is working hard to reduce red tape by 20% over the next six years and the rate of increase has certainly tap- ered since the bad old days of the 2009 and 2011 surveys," Mr Behrens said. "Stemming the flow of increased regulation is simply not enough and the levels we are seeing at the moment are still not sustainable for business."

The biggest compliance burden was identified as the Australian Taxation Office, while workplace safety bodies at state and federal levels were also in the sights of businesses.

"It is where we see duplication or instances of regulation that are simply unnecessary," Mr Behrens said.

"It is critical government departments continue to find ways to remove unnecessary regulation, but in order to do that they need to be made aware of the incidents of over-regulation by businesses themselves."